The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The objectives of the planned breeding program were to develop new Alocasia varieties of small to medium size, with rapid, vigorous growth, early and strong basal branching as well as columnar growth, suitable for 6-8 inch commercial pot production. The inventor additionally sought new varieties with interestingly ornamental foliage, and colorful, strongly contrasting leaf peduncles and long shelf life. The new variety originated from a cross pollination of an unpatented seed parent referred to as ‘Aurora’ and the pollen parent, the unpatented, variety of Alocasia known as ‘Polly’. The crossing was made during May of 2007.
The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Marian Osiecki, a citizen of the US, in October of 2008 in a group of seedlings resulting from the crossing. The new cultivar was found in a commercial greenhouse in Altha, Fla.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘ALO2’ was first performed at a commercial laboratory in Altha, Fla. by tissue culture on Mar. 3, 2009. Subsequent propagation by tissue culture has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.